Week of September 15, 2025
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
As we look ahead to our Parent Connection Day on Wednesday of next week and think about all that we see going on in the world around us, I wanted to share a parent resource that I hope you will find helpful. Something I have been concerned about for many years is the impact of constant technology like smartphones and tablets, and especially things like social media, on all of us as humans and on our children in particular. I highly recommend the research and writing of Jonathan Haidt, and if you have not read his book The Anxious Generation, or even if you have, the video linked below is a good summary of the findings in that work. I would encourage all of our parents to take the time and mental focus to process what he shares here about the "Great Rewiring" of childhood, and to reflect on our own rhythms and practices.
Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope the students enjoy the day off in the middle of the week!
“No one is perfect. That’s why pencils have erasers.” — Wolfgang Riebe |
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Reporting Absences
Please assist us by being sure to call our office at 317-485-3180 or email elizabeth.thomas@mvcsc.k12.in.us if your student is going to be absent. With state reporting, we have to assign specific codes for every absence, and it saves our office staff a lot of time each day if we don’t have to call to follow-up on students that are marked absent by their teachers. And please be sure to provide the documentation required for qualifying absences to be marked as excused in a timely manner.
MV Absence Policy Infographic
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Important Dates
Parent-Teacher Connection Day (NO STUDENTS)
Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 11a-6:30p
Sign-ups to meet were sent through ParentSquare
Dental Safari Onsite
Thursday, Sept. 25
See Flyer Below
Walkathon Money Due
Friday, Sept. 26
Dine to Donate @ Qdoba
Sunday, Sept. 28 4-8pm
Walkathon Spirit Week
Mon., Sept. 29 - Fri., Oct. 3
See Flyer Below
Walkathon Event Day
Friday, Oct. 3
Don't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures
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Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card! More about the Smilesafe program here.
Happy Friday!
This week, I finished going into 4th-grade classrooms to complete our quarter 1 anti-bullying lesson. For 4th-grade classes, I am reading the book "My Secret Bully" by Trudy Ludwig. Then we discussed different types of conflict and ended the lesson with a true/false activity. Next week I will be going into 3rd-grade classrooms for their quarter 1 lesson. This week, on Thursday/Friday, all grade levels received grade-specific body safety presentations. Students were given an information paper to take home. Feel free to reach out if there are any questions. Below are reminders and information about various programs at FES.
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We have a local church that will be donating new and gently used coats to our school. If your child does NOT have a winter coat and is needing one this season, please fill out the following form by the end of the school day on Tuesday, September 23rd (2:00pm). Please reference the sizing photo prior to putting in what size of coat your student needs, the church will be going off of this chart due to different brands having different sizes. This is ONLY for student(s) attending Fortville Elementary. The goal is for them to be distributed at the end of October.
- All requests must be submitted by the end of the school day on Tuesday, September 23rd (2:00pm).
- **If you have more than one student, attending Fortville Elementary, that is in need of a coat, fill out the form for each child.
- Coat Assistance Form
- Any student has the ability to request to come talk/meet with me. This week I went into all classrooms to explain where my office is located and how students can get a hold of me.
Upcoming events:
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1st Quarter Classroom Lesson: Bullying Prevention
- 3rd Grade Lessons: 9/15-9/19
- 2nd Grade Lessons: 9/22-9/26
- 1st Grade Lessons: 9/29-10/3
- Kindergarten Lessons: 10/6-10/10
- 9/23: Coat Assistance Form Due
House Points Update
These students were called to the Success Slide on Friday to be recognized for something from the week (being a great helper, working hard, demonstrating growth in a skill, etc.) Thanks for being valuable contributors to our Viking community!
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MV Reads: News from the Library
Mrs. Jennifer Leavell, FES Teacher Librarian
The library continues to be a busy place! If you have a reader who needs books more frequently than once a week, remind your student(s) that the FES Library is open each weekday morning from 7:15-7:35 to check in/out books. This is also a great time for students who were absent on their scheduled library day or who forgot their library books on their scheduled library day to visit us!
"Be a Substitute Teacher" and MV Employment
Fortville Elementary is a great place to work, and we would love to have you join our team. You can apply on the MV Employment website. We are currently looking for leave coverage teachers.
And we always need substitute teachers! Subs apply through Kelly Education Services (information below).
- To learn more or apply for substitute teacher positions at Mt. Vernon, please contact Kelly Education by completing this Inquiry Form and a recruiter will follow up with you. For questions, please call 800-991-5157, option 2.
- Kelly Services will guide the applicant how to obtain a substitute permit issued by the Indiana Department of Education (~$17) and a background check (~$28).
- Kelly Services will then share a short orientation video that will show you how to choose the jobs of your choice at Mt. Vernon and how to see the incentive offers.
Help Support FES Year-round
Help our school get a share of the money that many of America’s best companies are giving to K-12 education. SchoolStore.com is an online shopping mall where over 400 merchants have agreed to give a percentage of every sale to schools. This includes companies like Walmart, Best Buy, Old Navy, Kohl’s, etc. Just go to the website and then to the merchant websites you normally order from and help us earn rewards. The SchoolStore fundraiser is 100% online so there is NO face-to-face selling, handling money, or delivering products.
Go to https://www.schoolstore.net/sid.t?0000177219 to sign up. If you have questions about how to participate, reach out to our office. Once you are registered, invite family, friends and co-workers to support your child and our school.
Parent Resources
To be a chaperone on a field trip or to volunteer in the classroom regularly, you must have a clear background check from the current school year on file with our building (this is separate from any other MV buildings). FES Volunteer Background Check Form
At MV, we have all of our instructional staff trained on TBRI, and we now have a Parent Resource Hub available to our families to access at any time.
Webinars on support and advocacy for parents of High ability students. https://nagc.org/page/webinars
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   Walkathon info went home last week!
Donation links and Volunteer Sign-ups below. We encourage money donations to be done through individual students, but there is a general link HERE. We are looking for donations of snacks for our students to enjoy after they do their walking on the morning of October 3rd, and there are several tasks for which we also need assistance.
The FES PTO spirit wear store is always open to help with your FES and MV apparel desires.
LINK for Fortville Elementary Designs LINK for MV Designs
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